The atmosphere of the remaining contestants was anxious and nervous, yet Kyle seemed to be excited when his match was announced. He happily rushed forward towards the stage.
"Do you know what's up with the guy?" Martha asked.
Monk was just shaking his head staring down at the ground, he was ashamed to know someone like Kyle.
"Kyle always gets like this when he sees a pretty girl."
As Kyle stepped on to the stage, he started to shower Nay with compliments.
"That dress and whip is the perfect combination to your slender moving body. My chain and your whip could be the perfect couple item!"
But Nay had heard it all before. She had been asked out by many of the third years but turned them all down.
"If you truly wish to impress me, then prove that you are stronger than me."
Nay wanted a strong man but out of the third-year students, none had met her criteria so far. Jack was the strongest student by far but his idiocy was a big turn off for her. Killer who was ranked second was always silent and never to be seen, so it left him out of the equation. And being ranked fifth out of all the third years, the rest above her were female.
As the fight was about to start, Ray started to walk away.
"Aren't you going to stay and watch the fight?" Martha asked.
"There's no need. I already know who is going to win."
Ray continued to walk off and started to make his way to the medical bay.
The others thought Ray was being a bit harsh. Even if their teammate was going to lose, the least he could do was stay and support him.
Ray had finally reached the medical Bay and saw Slyvia lying down on the ground. She had already been treated by the doctors and there wasn't much they could do apart from suggesting that Slyvia get some good rest.
Ray approached Slyvia and sat down next to her. Slyvia immediately covered her face with her arm as soon as she saw Ray. But that still didn't stop Ray from seeing the tears roll down her face.
"I'm sorry Ray, even after you helped me…" Slyvia said as she cried.
Ray wasn't good in situations like this. He had decided to come to see Slyvia so he could take his mana back but now was clearly not a good time.
"Ray, will I ever get stronger?"
"Slyvia, you were amazing. No one watching would have said differently. You just happened to go up against a monster."
"But that's not an excuse. What would happen if we were to meet a strong magical beast out in the wild? It's fine saying that now, but what would I do if I couldn't protect everyone?"
Ray knew what it was like to want to protect everyone around him and fail. He did with his entire race. He was more powerful than his fellow dragons and he had wanted to protect them, but he failed.
"You can never protect everyone Slyvia and it's not your job too. No matter how strong you are or how strong you get."
"But I want to at least be able to protect you and…. our whole group." Slyvia blurted out, as a whole bunch of tears came out with it.
Ray felt disheartened. Slyvia was a lot stronger person than he ever was. She didn't have a fraction of the strength he did yet she still wanted to protect everyone. This whole time Ray had been afraid. He had distanced himself from everyone in the hopes that they didn't need protecting. He was scared that if he tried protecting them, he would fail again.
But even now that he was Human. The people he cared about around him were getting hurt and dragged into things.
Ray then held Slyvia's hand and started the mana drain process. Slyvia could feel the energy slowly start to come out from her body and when Ray was finally done, he stood up and started to walk away.
"You don't need to protect everyone Slyvia, that's my job."
When Ray finally arrived back up on the arena, the second-year students were silenced while the whole crowd was cheering.
"Did Kyle win yet?" Ray asked.
Just as Ray said that, Kyle currently had Nay tied up with his chain. Nay was struggling to break free but no matter how hard she tried it was useless.
"I give up." She said as she realised she wasn't able to get free.
"And we have our first second-year winner!"
As the announcer said that, Kyle released his chain from Nay's body and gave her a thumbs up.
"Remember to keep your promise, you owe me a date."
Nay turned around and quickly left the arena.
"I can't believe what I just saw," Dan said. "Wasn't Kyle always goofing around or running away from beasts when we went out hunting? How on earth did he win that match so easily?"
Ray could sense that for the first time Kyle was serious. During training, Ray had seen instances of Kyle's ability but the boy seemed to never focus. He was a quick learner when he wanted to be but was always distracted by gossip or girls.
During the fight, Kyle managed to avoid each and every whip strike of Nay that moved lightning fast. And when Kyle attacked himself, his attacks with the chain were just as fast back. With the use of the black sash footwork and his new chain weapon, he was easily able to out manoeuvre Nay and tie her up.
Kyle had also managed to distribute an even amount of Ki to each chain lock, making it nearly unbreakable. This was something that required a massive amount of concentration to do. But Kyle managed it because he was determined more than ever to show Nay his true strength.
The huge holographic display started to randomize through contestants once more, till it finally stopped again.
"You don't want to miss this fight folks because for the next fight we have the number one ranked student GARY! And his opponent HARRY! Both of these students are known for their beautiful swordsmanship and there's no telling who going to win!"
"Finally!" Gary said.
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